The Last House on Riverbend Road
by Strickens
Summary: Chloe and Beca find the perfect house for them and their children, and it's at a price that they can't say no to. But despite it's beauty, their new home holds terrible secrets.
1. Meet the Realtor

**AN: This is an AU. It also focuses around the theme of paranormal activity and ghosts, so if you don't like spooky stuff, I advise caution for reading.**

 **Rating M for said spooky stuff, adult themes and some smut in later chapters.**

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Gravel crackled and crunched as dirt stained tyres rolled over it, the navy blue sedan slowing as it turned into the open gate and began up the dirt driveway. The property itself was surrounded by a cast iron fence that had seen better days, black paint rusting and flaking off only to be gripped in a fierce embrace by sparse vines that clambered up it's height.

A typical FOR SALE sign lingered at the entrance, a little off kilter as though someone had given it one swift kick in defiance.

The sedan slowed as it came to the top of the driveway, eventually coming to a complete stop a few metres away from a red hatchback- this year's model- shiny and new in stark contrast to the towering, mansion-esque house behind it.

Opening the passenger door, a redhead with soft, falling curls stepped out, gravel and stray twigs cracking beneath the heel of her boots. A smile was already working her way onto her face as she pushed the car door closed, her eyes trailing over the house in awe and wonderment.

"It's amazing," she breathed, resting her hands on her hips. She didn't even bother to look over as the driver got out of the car, circling around to her side.

The brunette gazed at the red-head for a few moments before following her gaze towards the house. It had a verandah, from which hung a wooden swing that looked as though it could snap in two if so much as a bug landed on it. Her eyes drifted up further to the second story and what appeared to be several rooms looking down on them, their contents hidden behind thick lace curtains.

Even further up was an attic, a single large, circular window stained with decades worth of dust peering down at them like an eye. She shivered, though there was no cool breeze to speak of despite it being early in Fall.

"You sure know how to pick 'em Chlo," the brunette spoke in a dead pan voice, noting the peeling paint and what she believed was a hole in the roof tiles that would need to be repaired before the rains came.

Chloe bumped into her wife gently with her hip, the smile still finding a place on her lips despite the other woman's reservations about the property.

"Oh come on, this place is gorgeous _AND_ it's in our budget with plenty to spare."

Beca rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest as she turned to meet Chloe's gaze. "That's because we'll end up spending just as much fixing up this place. It seriously looks like it could fall over at the slightest touch, even from me."

Rolling her eyes, Chloe let her hands fall from her hips in a dramatic motion, opening her mouth to form a counter argument when a loud creak came from the front of the house. The large wooden door jolted inwards, causing both women to jump back in surprise, and a little bit of fear.

Out of the darkness inside, a tall blonde dressed in an immaculate pink blazer with a matching business skirt stepped out. Her brow furrowed as she peered at the door before noticing the two women standing at the foot of the front steps. A beaming smile overtook her face as she motioned to the hinges.

"Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you. Always takes a little bit of force to move this thing," she stepped across the porch, her black high heels clacking on the pine wood, extending her hand.

Chloe shot Beca a look of absolute joy, her cheeks dimpling, and the brunette as always found herself catching her contagious happiness; she shook her head and let her lips curl into a smile, her nerves calming. The two stepped up onto the porch, shaking hands in turn.

"I'm Aubrey Posen, the realtor. You must be the Mitchells?"

Beca's eyes widened as the blonde shook her tiny hand with such strength that she found herself retracting her fingers as quickly as she could.

"Wow, that's some grip you've got there," she stated, flexing her fingers and ignoring the gentle tsk'ing coming from Chloe's mouth.

"Yes we're the Mitchells," the red-head replied with a bright smile, tucking a few curls behind her ear and ignoring the way her lover had stuck her hand into her jacket pocket and was doing her best to act like a sulking child. "I hope we're not too late?"

Aubrey let out a soft chuckle, turning to the side and motioning with her arm for the two to make their way into the house.

"Your timing is perfect actually, just finished my lunch," another warm laugh. "Come on in."

Chloe intertwined her fingers with Beca's, pulling the other woman through the threshold of the house with a gentle tug. The brunette barely argued, even after all these years the simplest of affections sent butterflies through her chest.

It opened into a wide hallway with a set of stairs, covered with thinned and dirt stained carpet leading up to the second floor. An intricately carved wooden bannister looked out onto the landing, and the hallway itself also opened on the right into a large living area. To the left was what appeared to be a dining room.

Stepping through into the dining area, Chloe's face returned to one of wonder, leading them through the dining and into the adjoining kitchen.

Beca instantly noticed the thick layer of dust coating the counter island in the middle of the kitchen, leaning over and taking two fingers to swipe across the surface; it revealed that underneath lay cream coloured tiles marred with many tiny hairline cracks.

"It's going to cost in the thousands just to rip out all this damaged tiling, I hope you realise babe," Beca said, rubbing the dust between her fingertips and peering over at the red-head. Chloe's smile dropped, the brightness from her eyes dimming as she met her gaze.

Sensing the brunette's unease about the property, Aubrey stepped over and motioned towards the tiles, standing tall with a small smile on her face.

"These tiles are vintage, they've been in this property since it was built in the 1800's. Nothing a little bit of fresh tiling grout won't do to bring out their true beauty."

Chloe squeezed her wife's hand, the smile returning, and the brunette found herself just a little bit thankful to see that joy coming back. She inhaled softly, giving a small nod in Chloe's direction and wiping the dust onto her jeans.

"You're right, totally for preserving the vintage look," Beca teased, letting out a soft laugh as she saw the sparkle return to those gorgeous blue eyes.

Aubrey smiled proudly, motioning with her hand for the couple to follow her to the back door, where the back porch lead out into a sprawling backyard. The two women stepped out, and for a moment Beca herself was in amazement of the size of the property.

She wasn't great with maths, but she figured it could take several minutes to walk from the back door to where the local areas forestation formed a border at it's end. There was what appeared to be a garage, though it was a little lopsided and some of the corrugated iron on it's roof was rusting into holes that meant it was probably not water proof.

"Honey," Chloe breathed, pulling herself closer and wrapping both arms around Beca's bicep. "It's beautiful, and so huge! The kids will have plenty of room to run and play, we could even build them their own tree house!"

Aubrey cooed audibly, holding her business binder a little closer to her chest.

"Ohh, you have children?"

Nodding exuberantly, Chloe smiled at the realtor.

"They're at school right now," she squeezed Beca's bicep a little tighter, earning a soft grunt from the brunette. "There's Lilly, she's twelve, and Jacob, he's seven."

"Oh, well I think they're just going to love it here. The house has five bedrooms so they won't have to share, not like they would in the big city," Aubrey replied matter of factly, and Beca found herself finally able to loosen her arm from her wife's steely grip as she ducked back inside.

Puffing out her cheeks, Beca let out a long breath, taking purposefully slow, swaggering steps through the kitchen until she was able to find her way back to the hallway. Turning down it, she reached for the very first door she spotted- underneath the staircase.

Her fingers gripped around the brass knob, the cold metal working it's way up her arm and making her shake her shoulders as though a ghost had passed through her body. Furrowing her brow, she turned the knob- only to find that it was locked. She jiggled it a few more times, her bottom lip jutting out in protest.

Sighing in defeat, she stepped away from the door. "Figures," she stated, her voice tinged with annoyance.

Turning away, she continued down the hall and attempted to open the next door she found. This time it opened; it revealed a vintage bathroom with a small window overlooking the backyard- not that she was tall enough to see through it- she leant up on her tippy toes but to no avail.

There was a large bathtub, the kind with the little feet that looked like lions' paws. She noted that said bathtub appeared to be larger than usual, and of course the first thought that popped into her mind was the image of herself with Chloe laying in her arms, surrounded by bubbles and flickering candles.

She shook her head, cocking an eyebrow and laughing dryly.

"Head out of the gutter Mitchell, it's not a done deal yet."

Satisfied she had taken in all the bathroom had to offer she turned to leave the room, deciding to make her way upstairs to check out what condition the bedrooms were in. As she stepped into the hallway however, there was a soft sound; dry hinges creaked ever so slowly, followed by a whining sound as the door she previously tried to open was now ajar.

At first she didn't know what to think of it, her lips pursing into a frown. Usually this would be the part in the movie where she would probably be shouting at the screen for the woman to run for her life and take her family with her, 'get the hell out of dodge'. However this wasn't a movie, this was real life, and Beca being Beca, logic won out.

It was an old house after all, perhaps the door had just been jammed when she tried to open it but had loosened up and a draft had blown it open after she left. Or, perhaps the realtor and Chloe had come through while she was in the bathroom and unlocked it, even though her brain told her that was stupid and that she _definitely_ would have heard them.

Still, her feet moved closer; short, shuffling steps. She licked her lips, her hand extending slowly, cautiously, until she finally caught the knob in her grip and pulled the door open. However she instantly tugged her hand back when the frosty cold of the brass knob sent a tingling shock through her fingers.

Looking her hand over to make sure it wasn't burnt or blistered, she peered through the doorway and down the stairs in the basement. The first few steps were visible but the rest were shrouded in darkness, so out of caution she made sure to reach out for the railing and keep a firm grip on it at all times.

Slowly she descended, one step at a time. The wooden slats creaked and groaned in defiance with every move she made, only silencing once her boots came into contact with the concrete floor of the basement. Beca squinted, just able to make out the light switch, reaching out and flicking it on.

The light offered by the overhead fluorescent bulb wasn't too much of an improvement; it hummed softly and faded in and out, but she supposed it was enough to take a look around.

There was dust. A lot of it. It coated every surface in the basement, especially the few pieces of furniture scattered about that must have been left behind by the previous owners. There was a wooden high-backed chair that sat abandoned in one corner, facing the dull grey brick that the walls were lined with.

"Weird," she muttered to herself, shaking her head and making her way through to where an open doorway lead into another room, this one just barely illuminated through its entrance. She curled her hand around the door jamb, leaning in and squinting through the shadows.

At first she thought she could make something out, something... _moving?_ Well, it was an old house, for all she knew it could have a raccoon infestation or a family of stray cats. The sound of shuffling accompanied the movement, and she felt the pulse in her chest begin to thump faster against her ribcage.

Swallowing to try and ease the dryness in her throat, she took another step forward to try and make out what it was that she was seeing, when all of a sudden a figure as pale as porcelain lunged at her from the darkness. She didn't even realise she was crying out in horror until her throat ached in protest as the figure and her both toppled to the floor.


	2. It's a Steal

"No, nonono you get off me whatever you are!"

"Beca!"

"My wife will kick your ass if she-"

"BECA!"

In the calamity of falling to the ground, she was met with the sounds of hurried footsteps and Chloe's voice, knowing she was somewhere to her right despite the fact that she had her eyes closed and was pounding furiously at her attacker.

There was laughter then, and she realised it was coming from Chloe's throat; and then she felt the weight being lifted off her body as a pair of arms curled around her shoulders.

This was certainly no time to be laughing, though her heart was pounding in her ears and her breath was coming in ragged gasps, she could smell her wife's perfume and hear clattering along with a sincere apology from Aubrey. Beca managed to find the guts to crack her eyes open, finding them being met with sparkling blue and a comforting smile that seemed to be there at her expense.

"I'm so sorry, I forgot about these atrocious things," Aubrey apologised once again, grunting softly as she picked up the dressmaker's mannequin from where Beca had pushed it off of her person.

An exhausted sigh of relief fell from Beca's lips as she watched the blonde stand it up, only to notice that said stand was rickety and looked as though it could fall over again at any given moment.

Beca closed her eyes for a moment, opening them again to see Chloe looking at her apologetically, though the smile still remained.

Aubrey came over and the two helped the brunette to her feet, shaky as they were from her traumatic experience. Chloe reached down and brushed off large chunks of dust and cobwebs that were coating Beca's Jean clad thighs.

"Y'know," Beca put one hand on her hip as she continued trying to slow her heart rate, motioning to the dressmaker mannequin with her free hand. "You could have mentioned the creepy nightmare inducing dolls hiding in the basement."

Aubrey wrung her hands, following along behind Chloe who was escorting the shaken woman upstairs.

"My apologies, I could have sworn the basement was locked," they made their way through the house and into the kitchen, where Aubrey hastily poured a glass of tap water and offered it to Beca. The brunette mouthed a 'thank you' before sipping the cool drink.

"I was meaning to mention this place needs an electrician. The lighting in the basement is poor and I didn't want anyone to fall down the stairs or trip over the previous residents junk and hurt themselves."

Chloe shrugged, running a hand up and down her wife's back.

"It's an old house, things are going to fall apart. It just needs a little TLC," Chloe spoke softly, her hair bobbing. Beca's eyebrows lifted a little as she looked sidelong at the red-head.

"I'd prefer it if the house didn't fall _on_ me babe."

Aubrey chuckled softly, and after a few quiet moments and Beca sculling the rest of her water, she stepped forward with a look of anxious excitement on her face.

"So, shall we continue the tour?"

Chloe's eyes lit up, and she was already up and out of her chair, keeping a hand on Beca's back to steady her as she guided her out of the kitchen.

They followed the realtor upstairs, the wood creaking and cracking as they did. Beca couldn't help but grimace.

"Does anyone else feel like these stairs are going to break and we're going to get sucked into the pits of hell?"

Chloe chuckled, and continued her ascent without giving a reply.

"Oookay, so just me then. Cool."

They reached the top of the stairs, and Beca instantly found her hand once again grasped by Chloe's, and like the good wife she was followed her along the hallway.

"This is the master bedroom," Aubrey announced from behind them, waiting as Chloe opened the door to the room and stepped inside. "It has a walk in robe, and an en-suite, so you don't have to share a bathroom with the kids."

"Tell me about it. The amount of times I've been late to work because of Lilly hogging the bathroom?"

Chloe's head snapped around, shooting her a look. "Honey, she's a growing girl and nearly a teenager," the red-head grinned, winking playfully. "Besides, I seem to remember more than one occasion where you and I have hogged the bathroom for ourselves."

This time Beca felt a warmth beginning to burn in her cheeks, and she had to bite the inside of her mouth in order to prevent herself from bursting into a shit-eating grin at said memories.

Clearing her throat, Aubrey looked down at her binder, perhaps pretending to be intently interested in something that was written down there. However, the brunette spotted a little bit of pinkness rising to the blonde's cheeks, and couldn't help but want to snicker at Chloe's openness causing her embarrassment.

"Whatever you say, stud-muffin," Beca teased, giving her wife a playful slap on the behind as the red-head turned to head out of the room.

They continued their tour, checking the condition of the other four bedrooms, Beca of course scrutinising every little detail that would cost them money out of pocket to repair, while Chloe would simply ignore any of her protests in order to point out just how gorgeous the house was; it's design was sprawling and beautiful, and certainly had a built-by-hand feeling to it.

Their realtor was about to lead them back down the stairs when Beca remembered the attic. She stopped short, pointing towards the pull-cable hanging from the ceiling.

"Oh hey, I hope you don't mind I was just gonna-" Beca jogged over and wrapped her fingers around the cable, not waiting for the approval of Aubrey.

"Oh, of course, I just assumed you wouldn't care for the attic. It was only used for storage, there really isn't much of interest up there."

She tugged the cable, using her hand to steady the ladder as it folded down. Beca coughed quietly as a rain of fine dust fell over her, waving her hands about to disperse the cloud until it no longer stung her eyes to peer up. Her fingers curled around the rungs and she put her first foot on the bottom step; it was thin wood and it groaned under her weight, as light as she was.

"Honey, please be careful," Chloe fussed, extending a hand to support her as though she might fall, but the brunette waved her off.

"I'll be fine," Beca grunted, continuing up the ladder. "So long as there's no more mannequins waiting to attack me up here, that is."

Eventually Beca disappeared into the abyss of the attic, and Chloe was left at the bottom of the stairs, Aubrey at her side and following her gaze. There was a good minute of silence; no footsteps, no Beca complaining about the condition of the attic. Not even the sound of the brunette tripping over her own feet- Chloe had expected at least one of these things to happen.

Brow wrinkling in concern, Chloe pressed a hand against the ladder and tried to get a better view into the attic.

"Beca?" she called out, but there wasn't any response. Her and Aubrey exchanged a worried glance, and after a long pause of silence, Chloe decided she was going to go up there herself.

"Beca I'm coming up-"

"Don't bother," the smaller girl's voice finally came in reply, and the red-head found herself sighing in relief. She watched as Beca carefully stepped onto the ladder and began climbing down, jumping off at the second to last rung and brushing her dust covered hands off on her jacket.

"Well?" Chloe pressed, running a hand along her wife's bicep.

"The roof is definitely going to need some major repairs. There's wood rot as well from where the rain and mildew has gotten in, and don't even get me started with the crap up there we're going to have to pay to get removed."

"And that's going to be expensive?" the red-head could feel the sinking of her heart in her chest at the thought of having to miss out on such a beautiful property, but she was holding out hope. She wrung her hands and saw Beca's eyes flicking from her to Aubrey's.

"Hey, could you give us a sec?" Beca asked in a quiet voice, putting on her best smile and pulling Chloe off to the side.

Aubrey nodded in understanding, giving a polite smile in return. "Oh of course, take as long as you need."

Beca watched as Aubrey moved a few feet away and began reading through some of the paperwork in her binder, taking a pen from the breast pocket on her blazer and clicking it into action. She finally let her gaze fall back on Chloe, looking at her expectantly.

"Baby-" Beca began, trying to sound as uplifting as she could but seeing her wife's heart breaking before she had even spoken. Reaching down, she took up both her hands in her own and gave them a light squeeze.

"Look I'm not gonna' lie, this place is a huge commitment," she watched as Chloe nodded, and took a deep breath. "Like, it could take years to get this place up to scratch, and to be honest I won't be comfortable with moving the kids in until we've gotten an electrician and plumber out to make sure our family will be safe."

"Of course," Chloe replied, her thumbs tracing over the back of Beca's hands. Her face softened. "But you still have reservations?"

Sighing, Beca moved closer to her.

"This place is a big project. For the price we have to pay to fix everything we could afford a brand new apartment in the city, close to schools and transport-"

"But it would be the city," Chloe argued, her face setting with the stubbornness Beca knew all too well. The brunette shook her head, letting out a sharp breath.

"I want us to have room to grow as a family, together, away from the hustle and bustle. We could even buy our own chickens and have fresh eggs every morning, and milk our own cows!" Chloe argued, her tone turning into one of excitement at the mere thought of it.

She couldn't help but give in a little, her lips cracking into a smile at the red-head's dream. They held each other's gaze for some time, and with each passing second, Beca knew she would do anything for those two ocean blue eyes and that wonderful soul. Leaning in, she pressed her lips to Chloe's, forgetting everything else existed in that moment.

"Not to mention, even for the price of this place plus renovations, you're still going to be paying less than you would for something in the city," Aubrey's voice interrupted them, and they both broke their kiss to turn to the intrusion. "You'll never find a property of this size for a price like this."

Chloe chuckled, turning back to Beca and pressing a tender kiss to her cheek.

"Plus, you can have that basement all to yourself, set up your own studio. Once we get it all cleaned up that is."

That soft voice echoed in her ears, and it was in that moment that her decision was sealed.

"What do you say?" Chloe pressed gently, waiting expectantly until Beca finally turned to look at her. At first she couldn't decipher what the brunette was thinking, but then those gorgeous lips cracked into a bright smile, and she was able to make out just the barest of nods.

It was all Chloe could do to hold back her squeal of excitement, wrapping her arms around the tiny woman and holding her so tightly it was almost crushing; not that Beca minded. They stayed like that for a few moments, before Beca began gently patting at her wife's arm.

"Okay, babe, Beca needs some oxygen now."

Chloe chuckled, letting her go, but not before cupping her cheek and pulling her in for another soft, lingering kiss that sent shivers down Beca's spine.

"So, shall we go sort out the paperwork?" Aubrey asked, watching the two women and holding up her binder, tapping it with her pen.

"We shall!" Chloe proclaimed, intertwining her and Beca's fingers in a tight grip and tugging her towards the stairs.

As they did so, Beca could have sworn she felt a cold breath on her neck, using her free hand to swipe at it. She turned her head and peered towards the attic ladder, her brow crinkling, watching the dust still sprinkling from the opening. Deciding it was probably just a draft, she shook her head and turned her attention back to the direction her wife was guiding her in.


	3. Kids These Days

**AN: In case it interests anyone, I made a trailer to go along with this fanfiction. You can find it by going to my youtube channel, the channel name is stricky cub, and obviously the video is titled 'The Last House on Riverbend Road- Bechloe'.**

 **These first couple of chapters are going to be a bit shorter, as it's mostly 'prologue' type stuff. Can't wait to get into the real thick of the story ;)**

 **As always, read and enjoy! If you liked it, leave a favourite or a review, it's much appreciated :)**

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Shiny, white, a work van trundled up the dirt driveway, it's little wheels looking almost silly in comparison to the size of the vehicle. A vinyl decal and lettering on the side announced to the world that it was 'Jim Sparks- For all your Electrician needs!'.

Curly red locks whipped around from where Chloe had been on a ladder on the front porch, plastic handled screwdriver in hand as she replaced the rusted screws on the porch light. Her face lit up as the rumbling of the van engine revved down, handbrake crunching into place and the wonderful ambience of the country returned to her ears.

"Honey!" Chloe leant a little to the left so that her voice carried into the house, but not so far that she would tip off the ladder. "The electrician is here!"

Tucking the screwdriver into the belt holding up her cargo pants, the red-head carefully made her way down the ladder, crossing the verandah to where a scruffy man that looked like he could be in his late 40's was coming around the vehicle. He was dressed in stained and faded denim jeans, a navy button up shirt that was tucked neatly into his belt and steel cap boots.

Heavy footsteps could be heard from inside the house, stepping quickly across the wooden floorboards until the brunette could finally be seen emerging, her cheeks smeared with what appeared to be either grease or dirt.

"You the owners?" the electrician asked, taking long strides over to where Chloe was holding out her hand, a welcoming smile plastered on her face.

"Yes, I'm Chloe, this is my wife, Beca."

On cue, Beca took an awkward step closer, her red flannel shirt flapping gently in the early afternoon breeze to reveal a dark grey tank top underneath. Both the top and her shorts were covered in speckles of white paint, and they looked fresh enough that they could even have been from that day.

"Sup?" Beca quizzed quickly, squinting as the sun peeked out from behind a puff of cloud over the tree line. Her lips tipped into a crooked smile, which soon faded as the electrician looked between her and then Chloe, looking confused at the greeting.

"Don't mind her," the red-head waved him off, doing her best to be polite and accommodating while shooting her wife a glare. When all she got was a shrug in reply, Chloe brought her eyes back to the man, who gave a small smile in understanding.

"You wanted me to check the house wiring? Make sure there's nothing faulty?"

"Yes, we just purchased the property," Chloe raised one eyebrow ever so slightly. "Your advert says your company is experienced with historic buildings?"

The electrician seemed to beam, tilting his head to the side as he fumbled at his belt. After a few moments he latched onto a short, black flash light and pulled it free from its holster.

"That's right ma'am. Best in the county," he began to follow along as Beca and Chloe turned, stepping across the porch and leading the way inside. The electrician- Bruce, Chloe noted the name tag on his shirt as he brushed past her- gave a sweeping gaze over the length of the entrance, a low whistle escaping his lips.

"Beautiful place. If I had to guess I'd say it's circa 1840?"

Beca threw a 'is he for real' glance towards her wife, her lips cracking into the smallest of smiles, however the shake of fiery red hair in response was all she needed in order to button up her lips.

"Yes, I believe so," taking a few quick steps down the hallway, Chloe reached the cellar door and turned the knob, the metal protesting loudly as she did. A firm tug and the door pulled open, and she motioned with a polite wave down the stairs.

"The fusebox is just at the base of the stairs, to the right when you reach the bottom."

'Bruce' gave a thankful nod and professional smile, raising his flash light into the air and clicking it into action. The heavy white beam illuminated the eerily still particulate floating in the air as he descended.

The red-head peered down after him, moving her head every which way but not wanting to follow down and be a bother. She felt a sudden tug at her belt, turning her head quickly to meet sparkling eyes and a playful smile. Her heart leapt into her chest at the sight of her brunette wife, so taken by that face that she barely noticed a yelp of surprise had left her mouth.

"You," Beca began, giving another sharp tug at Chloe's belt; the red-head felt her mouth go dry. "Come upstairs."

It wasn't until the small woman had led her into one of the bedrooms they had decided on being one of the kids bedroom, that a paintbrush was thrust into her palm. Her heart sank- just a little bit- and she was pretty sure her lips had set into a pout.

"Aw baby, don't look so down," Beca teased softly, picking up her own paintbrush and waving it in a circular motion. "This will go by much faster with those talented hands of yours."

* * *

The basement was humid, cloying, like every inch of the air wanted to stick to your skin and pull you into its depths. It smelled like it probably hadn't been dusted in a century, so it was a good thing Bruce didn't suffer from dust allergies.

He'd been an electrician since his young days as an apprentice, over 20 years ago now, and had spent most of his life in basements, attics, and even behind the walls of all manner of houses. In fact, in a town with a population just scraping over 10,000, he made it his speciality to know the in-and-outs of all kinds of buildings. From century old buildings with rotting floors and wiring hanging from the ceiling, to the more modern houses with all the amenities.

Making quick work of the staircase, Bruce flicked his flash light around his surroundings to get his bearings. Like most homes of this age, the fuse box was right where they said it would be.

Approaching it cautiously, he eyed it up. He lifted a heavy palm to the metal door on the box, brushing away a thick layer of cobwebs, once he had discerned that the webs didn't belong to a spider that would land him with a nasty bite.

A sharp tug pulled the door open, revealing the large box of fuses and wiring. Bringing the torch up, he clicked his tongue. The fuses themselves all seemed intact, though there was a lot of loose wiring where the rubber insulation had begun to perish away, exposing the copper to the elements.

Squinting, he noticed something else odd. There was a dusty, black substance surrounding all of the fuses. Running a finger through it, he rubbed it between thumb and forefinger; it was greasy, but visually looked chalky. If anything, his first guess would be that it was residue from a previous house fire, but there was no evidence to suggest such a thing and the substance itself wasn't at all like ash.

Shaking his head, he continued his inspection. The box itself was outdated and unsafe by current safety standards, meaning it would have to be completely replaced.

Shutting the box, he turned to make his way upstairs, unclasping a notepad from his work belt to make note of the fusebox when his flash light landed on a ghostly white face.

His heart jumped into his throat and he felt himself physically fall back a step, his pulse thundering in his chest. After his eyes had a moment to focus, the figure came more clearly into view, and his eyelids fluttered shut for a moment and a heavy breath flew from his mouth.

"Kid, you scared me," he spoke firmly, but not enough to sound threatening. "What are you doing down here, do your parents know you're in the basement?"

It was a girl, she looked about eight years old but he couldn't be certain. Her face was framed by long, chocolate locks of hair that fell down to her waist, and she was wearing a faded floral dress that only accentuated the pallor of her skin.

The little girl shook her head from side to side, her hair flicking with her as she did.

Bruce knelt down on one knee, resting his flash light underneath his arm and setting his face into a stern expression.

"You know it's dangerous to be down here, you could trip and fall and hurt yourself."

The girl continued staring at him from behind her hair, her green eyes shimmering; she seemed truly intrigued by what he was saying, but was yet to speak any words out loud.

Sighing in defeat, the electrician stood up and pressed his fingers into her shoulder, turning her towards the stairs and giving her a light push.

"Go on, upstairs with you," he gave a light smile as he watched the girl, seemingly drawn by a string as she made a bee-line towards the stairs and began to ascend. Turning back to the fusebox, he finally retrieved his notebook and scratched out a few quick notes, then flipped it closed and slipped it into the breast pocket of his work shirt.

He turned back to the stairs, but the girl was already gone. Wiping the back of his hand across his forehead where a layer of sweat was gathering, he too made his way to the staircase and began ascending. There was still the rest of the house to check out, and his next stop would be the attic.

* * *

Chloe stepped back from the wall she had been painting, hands on hips and a look of satisfaction on her face as she admired her work. Turning her head to the right, a small smirk worked its way onto her lips as she compared it to the patch Beca had been painting; it was bad. Not that bad, but bad enough that she can't help but wonder just how long it would take her to paint over all those criss crossed streaks and splotches.

She took in the sight of her lovely wife- a true vision of beauty- standing there with droplets of paint on her cheeks and forearms, shirt rolled up to her elbows. Those thin little arms were working so hard in swiping the brush over the wall with purpose, a permanent semi-smile on her face.

Beca must have felt the red-head staring, as after a good half a minute she stopped what she was doing and looked back at her. A thin eyebrow cocked with intrigue, and Chloe just knew there was some smart arse comment waiting to leave the tip of that tongue; she felt her own cheeks warm at having been caught.

Swallowing, then clearing her throat, Chloe held her head up high and took several short steps towards her wife.

"So, did you have post modern in mind when you were painting this masterpiece?"

The brunette's brow lowered immediately into a glare, and she took two firm steps towards the other woman, raising her paintbrush in a rather threatening manner. Chloe watched as a long trail of sticky, beige paint dribbled from the hairs and onto the stained sheet underneath their feet.

"You're just jealous because my paint patch is way more awesome than yours," wriggling her eyebrows to put her point across, Beca finished with a stubborn little nod. That motion in itself was enough to make Chloe's lips crack into a wicked grin.

The two couldn't keep up the charade, and two more steps forward was all it took for Chloe to wrap her arms around Beca's neck, grin still plastered all over her face. Now though, as their faces inched closer together, something else lingered behind her ocean blue eyes.

"I wouldn't say jealous," the red-head chewed on her lower lip, her eyes dancing down and watching as her wife's lips parted in anticipation. "Definitely lucky though."

As they leant closer, their lips mere centimetres apart, there was a rough voice clearing its throat and a gentle rap at the door to the room. Chloe cursed inwardly; it really was her luck to be interrupted just when she was about to get herself some of that sweet Beca lovin'.

Dragging herself away, she could hear the low groan of sufferance just barely escape her wife's throat; she looks over and sees fingers grasped so tightly around the paintbrush that her knuckles have gone white, and there is a look of such irritation and swirling clouds of unmet desires behind those eyes.

"Sorry to uh- interrupt," Bruce began, his fingers fiddling nervously over the notepad in his hands. Thankfully, he kept his gaze away until the two women were at least a foot apart from each other and untangled from their 'business'. Bringing a hand up to scratch at the nape of his neck, he finally lifted his face to make eye contact.

"I've checked everything out. The wiring in general seems to be good. I did find an outlet in the master bedroom that needs replacing, and some loose wiring in the attic that's going to have to be fixed."

Leaning down, Beca wiped her paintbrush against the lip of the paint can, before dropping the item to the ground and brushing her palms against the thighs of her pants.

"Your fusebox will need to be completely replaced in order to adhere to current safety laws, I'm guessing the previous owners never got that checked out."

A light sigh left Beca's lips, and this time it was her turn to have her hands on her hips as she watched Bruce shift between his feet.

"Alright, how much is that going to set us back and how soon can we get it done?"

The man looked a little uncomfortable at her brusqueness, 'straight to business' as they said, but nodded regardless and gave her his award winning polite smile. Beca did her best to ignore the head shake that Chloe was giving her.

"Well ma'am, I've actually got an opening tomorrow I can do it in. It'll only take me maybe four hours max to do everything." He straightened, and both women noticed just how proud of his work he seemed.

"As for pricing, you're probably looking at around $1400," he paused but added quickly as an afterthought, before the two had time to process the pricing, "that's including labour, of course. You won't find any cheaper in town, and nobody with the experience around houses such as yours."

Although Chloe could still sense her lover's apprehension at having to wave a feeble goodbye to such a large amount of money, they both knew this was both for the good of the house and the good of their children. She gave a firm nod and a pleasant smile, making sure to look back over towards Beca and give her a wink of reassurance.

"Of course, any time tomorrow suits us just fine. We'll just be here getting everything ready to move the kids in."

At that moment she saw something strange cross over the man's face. His tanned forehead crinkled to the point it might almost be mistaken for old leather, and his head just barely tilted to one side.

"So... that wasn't your kid I saw downstairs in the basement?"

Chloe and Beca looked between each other, this time their own faces matching his confusion. She shook her head softly, red curls bouncing as she did.

"No, we didn't want to move them in until we knew it was safe. They're staying at their grandparents until then."

"Wait, what kid in the basement?" it was Beca's turn to pipe in, taking a step closer and peering at the old guy as if he was hiding some terrible secret from her; he shifted nervously under her gaze.

"I saw a kid- little girl- she looked about eight years old, long brown hair?"

He looked between the two women, who both looked about as clueless as he did. Then, it dawned on him. He gave a dry laugh and scratched absent mindedly at his greying hair.

"Oh, I guess it musta' just been a neighbourhood kid or something," shaking his head, he scribbled a small list of supplies down on his notepad to remind himself of what he needed to purchase for tomorrow. He looked up to the women again and made a small motion with one of his hands.

"Y'know how it is with houses like these. Been empty for a while, rumours start going around town. Local kids decide to mess around on the property and whatnot," he chuckled, and it was a soft, warm sound.

Chloe let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, her eyelids closing for a moment. She just knew next to her that Beca would be adding more to her ever growing list of 'stuff that's wrong with this place' in her head.

"Great, looks like we're gonna' have to get a locksmith out here too."

Looking over, Chloe watched as her wife ran a hand through her hair and let out a small sigh. There was a moment where it almost seemed as though she was saying 'this is too much', but then she looked up and caught her gaze, and those thoughts were instantly gone as she saw the love still staring back at her.

"Well, thank you for getting this done for us, you don't know how much we appreciate it."

"Of course."

The two followed the electrician downstairs, showing him the way out in case he had forgotten. They stood on the porch, both using their palms to block the glare from the sun. Bruce started up the van and waved to them from his window, receiving waves in response before trundling off down the driveway.

Chloe continued to watch the van leave, a thick trail of dust following in its wake. At that moment, with the sun warming her skin and the knowledge of their home slowly coming together, she barely registered Beca creeping closer and closer to her until she felt a hot breath flutter across her neck.

Snapping her head to her right, she came nose to nose with a rather amused looking brunette who despite being covered in freckles of paint and having her hair up in a rather sassy- or more accurately messy- bun, looked just as radiant as the day she had married her.

"Y'know," Beca began, wiggling her nose before bumping it gently into her lover's, "you're pretty frickin' cute when you get all thoughtful."

A small amount of heat crept up Chloe's cheeks, and she just knew it would only take a few seconds for the blush to become noticeable. She let out a small hum, trailing her hands up the length of Beca's waist until she was able to grab a fistful of flannel in each hand. A light tug, and the two were even closer than they had been.

"Just shut up and kiss me already."

Beca let out a low moan, a crooked smile working onto her lips as she leant in, her breath warm and smelling oddly of Cola and the PB&J sandwiches they'd shared earlier.

"Mmm, yes ma'am."


	4. Are We There Yet?

The scenery rushed by the car windows, little Jacob staring out in intrigue as the sedan rumbled down the road. Every so often, a towering house with a sprawling yard would start to come into view; he would clutch onto the arm rest and try to pull himself up higher, trying to catch all the detail. His heart would soon sink though as the house passed by, and he chewed on his lip while resisting the urge to ask for the seventh time that day, "Are we there yet?"

He could hear his mother and sister in the front of the car talking about something- to be honest he wasn't paying a whole lot of attention- but every so often his mother would glance in the rear view mirror from behind her large, amber sunglasses just to make sure he was still there. This time her gaze lingered on him a little longer, and he looked back at her.

"What's got you so interested out there honey?" Chloe's voice drifted between the front seats, and he watched as his sister turned from the passenger side, watching him intently with a cocked eyebrow.

"Probably wondering why he can't join his animal family in the wild."

Clicking her tongue, Chloe snapped her head to meet her daughter's eyes, the girl now slinking back to face the road even as a small smirk remained on her lips.

"Lillian Mitchell!"

Jacob snickered under his breath, chewing on the inside of his cheek to help suppress a snort he knew just wanted to make its way out. He and his sister both knew the use of your full name in that tone of voice was just the start of their parents' impending wrath; luckily for his sister, Chloe was too busy focussing on the road to dish out a full on lecture.

The red-head settled for shaking her head instead, pursing her lips and the centre of her eyebrows crinkling in that way that they did when she was either deep in thought or on the edge of entering a very bad mood.

"You're just like your mother sometimes baby," sighing softly, she adjusted her sunglasses. "Lilly please try not to upset your brother today, at least wait until we've moved in okay?"

Unable to resist it any longer, Jacob sat up a little straighter in his seat, leaning forwards and using his hands to hold onto the back of his mother's chair. He could see the road narrowing, a thin layer of clay and gravel blowing across its surface. He inhaled a slow breath, his eyes brightening and lips parting before it finally escaped.

"Are we there yet?"

"Oh my god Jakey, quit being such an annoying turd!"

Lillian's face snapped to meet his, and his face set into a stern glare, staring straight back into her hazel eyes. His little eyebrows crinkled together and he prepared to unleash his response, not noticing his mother's hands tighten on the steering wheel.

"Shut up Lillian! I'm allowed to ask questions-"

"Not when it's the same dumb question you've already asked like fifty times today-"

"Both of you!" Chloe snapped, her lips tightening into a scowl, blue eyes turning acidic from behind her glasses.

Jacob shrunk back into his chair. That look was reminiscent of the time when he was younger and accidentally broke one of his sister's dolls, snapping her arm off at the elbow. It was Lilly's favourite doll, and she had shoved him so hard that he fell backwards and cracked his head on the corner of the coffee table, resulting in the need to be rushed to the hospital where he promptly received ten stitches and a free lollipop. _Blueberry flavoured._

On the other hand, his sister had received a lengthy yelling at from both parents, and had been banished to her bedroom to 'think about what you've done'. Computer privilege and friend visits had also been suspended for the rest of that week.

Chloe let out a sharp, strained breath, concentrating on the road but not sparing Lillian and Jacob a warning glare from her peripheral vision.

"We're almost there, but I swear if you two don't stop arguing right this minute I will stop this car right now and you can walk the rest of the way."

The two children went deathly silent, Jacob pushing back even further into his seat, and Lillian crossing her arms over her chest while a rosy colouring formed on her cheeks. Unsatisfied with their silence, Chloe gave them both one more piercing stare.

"Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, mum," they both echoed in unison.

The car fell into silence once more, bar the soft rumbling of the engine and the crackling of the road underneath the tires. Jacob returned to watching out the windows, his eyes flickering from side to side as the trees flew past his vision. It felt like it had only been a minute in passing before there was a break in the tree line, and his vision began to follow the line of a rustic iron fence encasing the yard of a run down old house.

It certainly didn't have the grandeur that some of the other places in this town had, but just in pure size it was majestic and breath taking. He pressed a hand against the window, edging as close as he could, and he felt a little well of excitement rise up in his stomach as the sensation of the car slowing and beginning to turn into the driveway vibrated through him.

Approaching the front of the house, he could see a large moving truck with its rear doors open, and two men in orange and blue uniforms carefully lowering their sofa down until it was able to be carried to the front porch. He was just able to make out a small brunette standing in the doorway, waving her hands around and mouthing words, the movers following her said directions and disappearing into the house carrying the couch.

Jacob had barely waited for the car to come to a complete stop, his face almost breaking in two he was smiling so brightly. He unclipped his seatbelt and pulled the door open before Chloe even had time to apply the handbrake, running at lightning speed towards the brunette woman across the yard. His Nike's slapped against the ground and the breeze whipped his ear length blonde hair about his eyes; yet as clear as day he could still see Beca, her face breaking out into a huge grin to match his own.

Beca barely had time to open her arms as the boy launched himself against her, wrapping his arms around her waist and clinging to her tightly, instantly relieved as he inhaled the scent of fabric softener on her shirt and an earthy scent that was just so recognisably her.

"Mama B!"

He felt the sensation of her peppering the top of his head with kisses, the warmth of her arms surrounding him, and even though his chest was burning from the run from the car he still managed to find enough breath to look up and exclaim: "I missed you!"

"Missed you too baby, did you two behave for grandma and grandpa?"

Nodding exuberantly, Jacob turned so that his cheek was smushed into his mother's stomach, and saw his sister and their other mother approaching from the car. Despite the fact that she would have had everyone believe she wasn't thrilled at all, Lillian's lips turned up into the smallest of smiles, and her steps turned to a light jog until she too was nestled in the warmth of a parental snuggle.

"You know us mama B, always so well behaved," Lilly teased, receiving her share of head kisses.

Beca leant over the two children as her red-headed angel approached, capturing the woman's lips in a tender kiss; the two parents shared a few unspoken words, before Beca's mouth cracked into a crooked smile and her nose crinkled.

"Oh I'm sure you did," she gave one last kiss to their foreheads before pulling away, pressing her hands into their backs and directing them towards the house. "I'll be calling grandma later to corroborate that story."

As Jacob and his sister headed into the house, he was sure he heard his mum call out after them to "don't run in the house", but of course it only took crossing the threshold before he broke out into a sprint, almost running into the movers in the process. He barely uttered out an apology, slipping past the men and beginning upstairs with Lilly in tow.

"First one upstairs gets to pick their own room!"

The sound of the children's footsteps clattered up the stairs, and Jacob could hear the sound of his sister's breath right behind him. Reaching out, he grabbed the thick, wooden railing and hauled himself up the last few steps, looking back at Lilly with a triumphant grin. His sister rolled her eyes and pushed past him, only turning back to cock an eyebrow at him with a mischievous smile playing at her lips.

"I'm older than you, I'll get the bigger room anyway you know."

Jacob scrunched up his brow, setting his lips in a pout as he watched his sister make her way down the hall. As she disappeared into one of the rooms, he heard a scratching sound in the wall beside him, tapping and clicking as if something was crawling around behind the brickwork.

Rather than be left alone here where a wild rat could chew its way through the wall and consume him for an afternoon snack, he took off in a jog after Lilly.

He skidded to a halt at the doorway she had passed through, leaning on the door jamb and peering into the empty room. The floor was covered in a thin layer of dust, the wooden floorboards wide and patterned with intricate lines and knots as though they had been carved from a tree older than both of his parents and grandparents combined. A rectangular window took up most of the wall adjacent to the door, its panes cracked open and the midday breeze playing with the lace curtains.

Sniffing, he noted a light scent of paint; it wasn't overpowering but the smell made his nose crinkle up and he wondered how long it would take before it was gone.

"This is awesome, this place is so huge I'll have room for my own computer desk. Maybe even a bookshelf!" Lilly exclaimed, arms out wide as she span around and looked like she was already planning out where exactly everything she owned would go.

Jacob nodded, his fingers tapping on the door jamb as he watched his sister in what he now assumed was her 'claimed space'. Pushing off, he looked down the hallway to the next room down, its wooden door closed and an air of mystery emanating off of it.

His curiosity was piqued, and he found himself being drawn towards the room. Head tilted at an angle, he put one foot in front of the other, the floor cracking underneath with every step. A chill came over him, his body shivering involuntarily; he clasped his hands over his upper arms and rubbed in order to bring some warmth back to his skin.

Edging closer still, he gingerly reached out with an open palm, stopping momentarily. Taking a steady breath, he chewed his lower lip with his teeth and pressed forward with his hand.

The door whined in protest as it was shoved inwards on its hinges, and Jacob found himself being met with a cold blast of air. It tussled his hair and caused a sharp intake of breath before dissipating into the depths of the house. Leaning forwards and into the room, he peered around.

Painted a pale shade of pastel blue, the room had a coolness to it that the rest of the home did not seem to have. The chill bit at the nape of his neck and caused goosebumps to prickle along his forearms. Fluttering softly, the curtains over the open window seemed to dance and flick, tempting him further into the room.

Edging forwards, Jacob let his eyes flit around his surroundings. The rubber soles of his sneakers squeaked against the hardwood floor, the high pitch noise bouncing off the walls and echoing throughout. His gaze finally settled on what appeared to be a walk in closet to his left, white doors with slats peering back at him, nothing but darkness laying behind.

 _Rattle, rattle, click._

The doors appeared to move on their own, though the movement itself was so small that he couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't just his imagination; if not, maybe it was the rats he'd heard scattering in the wall before. If it _was_ rats, he should probably open the closet and check, at least that way he'd be able to tell his parents. Even if that meant risking his life at the claws of said wild creatures hiding out in the shadows.

A tiny hand reached out for the handles, two dusty metal knobs with all manner of scratches and even a few paint droplets on them. Jacob sucked in a deep breath, steeling his nerves, then moving his hand forward and grasping the knob. He pulled the closet door open in one swift movement, bouncing on his toes in the case that he needed to run, but despite his fears nothing jumped out of the darkness and latched onto him.

That's when something firm slapped down onto his shoulder and gripped him, spinning him around.

His mouth opened as he prepared to let loose a cry of surprise, when his eyes fell on the face of his sister, her lips tightened into a grin and her irises sparkling with amusement.

"Hey Jakey, you gotta' come check this out!"

Cheeks flushing momentarily, he shrugged his shoulders and scrubbed at his chest with his fingers as though chasing an itch. Obviously she hadn't intended to scare him, but it had startled him regardless, all he could do was pretend as best as he could that it didn't bother him.

Following after his sister, he took a few long strides to catch up as she strolled purposefully into the hallway.

"What is it?"

They continued down past his room until they came to a stop almost at the end of the hall. It confused him at first, looking around there wasn't anything there, just an empty hallway. That was until, Lilly reached up with an arm nearly twice as long as one of his own, and his neck craned upwards to see her fingers wrap around a string and give a sharp tug.

A section of the ceiling began falling away. Jakey took a single step backwards, watching as it was followed by a wooden ladder that folded out from the ceiling, its hinges whining at the pressure and a thin cloud of dust falling down and sprinkling onto the two of them.

Jacob squinted, waving the dust out of his face and stepping closer once again so that he could peer up into the shady space beyond the ceiling. He had to admit, there was something intriguing about it, and it could have just been his childhood curiosity or something more but as his sister turned and grinned at him he knew there was no way they wouldn't be going up there.

"C'mon, let's check it out."

Licking his lips, he spun his head around, listening to the sound of their parents and the movers shuffling around downstairs, as well as inaudible conversations echoing along the hallway.

Turning back to the ladder creaking under the weight, he watched as Lilly ascended, waiting until she was far enough up before stepping onto the bottom rung; the last thing he wanted was for her to accidentally- or purposefully- kick him in the face.

Once she was up, he followed, holding tightly onto the rungs for all the support they offered even as they felt as though they might crack underneath his weight. Reaching the top, Lilly extended a hand and he wrapped his fingers around it, allowing himself to be helped up into the space above the ceiling.

Letting go of her hand, Jacob began to turn, taking in all the silent, forgotten artifacts around them. His lips parted just a little bit, tongue snaking out to lick his lower lip. The first thing he noticed was that everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, and in the dim lighting it was hard to really make out the shape of anything.

Lilly walked over to the large window that overlooked the front yard, reaching out with a hand and streaking a finger through the dirt and dust caked onto the glass.

"Ugh, it's like no one's been up here in years," she noted, shaking her head and wiping the dust off on the side of her jeans.

Jacob was about to agree, taking a step towards her but feeling the floorboards crunch underneath his shoe, he looked down to see that where he had stepped had crumbled and cracked. It was obvious the wood had rotted out and was continuing to flake off in spots even as he pulled his sneakers away from where splinters tried hold him down.

Being up here, away from the world and away from the touch of sunlight was like being in a completely different universe. Every particle of dust could be seen floating in an almost solid haze, hovering in place until someone walked through it or waved a hand to disperse it. Everything seemed so old, a musty odour and something else he couldn't put his finger on, the stench filled the air and made his nose tickle.

He had lost track of Lilly, assuming she was somewhere behind him as he had wandered through the attic, running his fingers along the surface of boxes and furniture in disrepair, taking care and looking down every few feet to make sure he wasn't treading on more rotting floorboards. It probably wasn't the safest place to be, but since when do kids prioritise safety over adventure?

 **scratch, scratch**

There it was again, _rats, or something. Possums, maybe?_ This time he was determined to catch the creatures out, just to make sure it was rats, and so he crouched down and began taking cautious, slow steps towards the direction of the sound. It was getting darker with every step, his shoulder brushing against a stack of boxes with worn texta written labels, and as he made his way around them he could have sworn he saw a shape disappear behind a trunk near the corner of the attic.

Jacob grunted, reaching out to steady himself along the beams of the sloping roof, creeping down the side and towards the corner until he was only a few steps away from the crate. It was at that moment, that he saw the shadow move once again, shuffling and shuddering from where it was hidden and suddenly appearing much larger than it had in his peripheral vision. Almost as large as... a person?

His breath caught in his throat, the sound coming out in a barely audible puff of air. Surely it was Lilly pulling a prank on him, just trying to scare him. It wouldn't be the first time, and it definitely wouldn't be the last.

Plucking up some courage, he swallowed a lump of dryness in his throat and took a steady step forwards, leaning towards the shadow and making sure his footing was steady in case she tried to lunge out at him and knock him off his feet.

"Come on Lilly, I can see you behind the crate! Stop fooling around!"

The shape stopped moving at the sound of his voice, and for a moment he thought he'd caught her by surprise and felt a welling up of self satisfaction, the corner of his lip twitching as the shadow began to move once more. It let out a low rumble, unfurling from where it was twisted into a ball, the dust around it parting and swirling in a frenzy.

Jacob's face instantly dropped and he felt a lump of fear form in the very pit of his stomach, his eyes flitting as he watched the shape unfold, long spindly arms with clawed fingers that were easily the length of his skull alone. It had no discernible features, it was simply a mass of darkness, like someone draped in a sheer black curtain that twisted and floated with every movement of their body.

A sensation came over his chest as a clawed hand extended towards him, like a vice grip curling and crushing around his rib cage, squeezing tighter and tighter. His eyes began to well up with tears, lips beginning to pale as his chest heaved and wheezed, his lungs struggling to draw oxygen.

As the creature grew closer, he thought this was it, this was the end. He couldn't even find the breath to call out for Lilly or their parents, the only thing he could manage to do was take several quick steps backwards. It was as he did this that a pair of hands grasped tightly onto his shoulders, spinning him around as his mouth dropped open and prepared to release a blood curdling scream.

The scream never came.

* * *

"Jakey?"

His heart was almost pounding out of his chest, and his lungs were on fire as they struggled to suck in air. Wrestling against the grip on his arms, his eyes met his sister's, her pupils dilated and brow furrowed in concern.

Twisting in her hold, he turned his neck back as far as it would go, half expecting to see a monster with empty eyes like the void staring down at him and his sister. Blonde hair falling over his face, he looked all around the area only to see nothing but boxes of junk, the crate, and layers upon layers of dust still sitting undisturbed.

Hands shook at his shoulders, snapping him out of his panicked state and bringing him back to face his sister, who's face was now more etched with concern than it had been previously.

"Jakey you look like you've seen a ghost."

"I did!" he forced the words from his throat, but they came out dry and rushed, his chest heaving and his breaths squeaking with every inhale. Lillian was now looking at him like he was some kind of weirdo, or maybe she was just worried about him, either way a small sob erupted from his lips and he shoved past her- nearly tripping over a raised floorboard in the process- working his legs as hard as he could until he found his way back to the ceiling entrance.

It took less than five seconds for him to step down the ladder, his feet moving even faster than he had time to process the movements. He could hear Lilly behind him calling out his name which was soon followed by the sound of her shoes clapping against the steps.

Leaping off the bottom step, he hunched over for just long enough to suck heavy breaths into his lungs. His chest was heaving with every inhale and he felt as though his throat was closing, denying oxygen to his body and making his skin feel cold and clammy. To make matters worse, his parents were now just making their way up the last few steps, each carrying a box of household items. One labelled 'Jacob's toys', the other 'bathroom'.

As they made their way up the final steps and onto the landing, they both heard the commotion, Lilly descending the ladder at a rapid pace as she tried to catch up to her brother. Chloe's brow furrowed instantly as she observed the two children, her eyes lingering on Jacob before moving over to the open attic door and her lips pursing as she realised the two had been up to no good.

Jacob knew they were about to get a mouthful, but he was too busy struggling to catch his breath. He reached out for the railing over looking the lower floor, curling his finger around the bannister to support himself as he tried to suck breath after breath in.

"Jacob? Honey, are you okay?" Chloe's voice was full of only concern as she leant down, placing the box on the floor and rushing over to her son's side. She reached out with her hands, cupping his face in both of her palms and lifting it up so that she could see underneath his mop of hair. His skin was pale and lips losing a little of their pinkness, and she knew straight away he was having an asthma attack.

Turning back to Beca, who had now also put her box down and rushed over to her, she looked up from where she was kneeling.

"Baby could you get me his inhaler? It's in my handbag on the kitchen counter."

"Sure, I'll be right back."

With that, Beca took off down the stairs, her footsteps echoing along the wooden floorboards clearly audible even as she rushed down the hallway and to the kitchen.

Chloe rubbed her hand up and down Jacob's back, still worried for her son's health, her gaze now however turning to his sister. There was a burning fire lit behind Chloe's eyes as she stared at her and Beca's daughter, the girl shrinking under her scathing glare.

"Just what were you doing taking your brother up into the attic?"

Mouth moving, but no words coming out, Lilly stuttered and let out a few choice sounds before finally hanging her head in shame. Her brunette hair flopped over half her face, but she brushed it away. In that moment, Chloe's frown softened and the severity of the crinkles in her forehead lessened; she looked like a younger version of her mother, and she found it difficult to stay mad at her.

"W-we were just exploring. I wanted to know what was up there and Jakey wanted to come too," shuffling her feet where she stood, Lilly's voice was apologetic and she knew as she watched her little brother struggling for breath that she could have caused a much worse incident than just an asthma attack.

"You know that attics are full of dust and dirt," Chloe's eyes followed along the bannister over to the stairs as she heard her wife hurrying back up to them. "You or Jacob could have been seriously injured, fallen through the floor or had God only knows what fall on you."

Chloe reached out, her fingers clasping firmly around the inhaler as Beca handed it to her. The red-head mouthed a thank you and pressed a small smile into her lips, before giving the device a thorough shake.

Lifting Jacob's head by the chin, she held it up to his lips and waited for him to allow it into his mouth. Once it was in place, she depressed the cannister and waited for him to steadily inhale the chemicals that would slowly- but surely- relax his airways and allow him to breathe normally again.

"I don't want either of you going up into the attic like that ever again, understand?" Chloe asked, voice firm and sharp like pressed steel, turning to Lillian so that she especially received the message loud and clear. The girl was already shaking her head, twisting her fingers to deal with her nerves even as Jacob's breath began to enter his airways with reduced wheezing.

"Sorry mum," Jacob said meekly, his voice catching as he inhaled a short breath.

Snaking an arm around him, Chloe pulled him close and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"It's okay, just don't do it again, okay?"

Jacob nodded in response, his blonde hair tickling her nose and cheeks, so she lifted a hand up to smooth the hair back onto his head.

His chest expanded as he took in a deep breath, the air starting to come more freely now and the burning in his lungs beginning to sooth; as his airways relaxed more every minute, he felt his mum put pressure underneath his armpits and felt her coaxing him to his feet, so he obliged.

Her hands steadied him as he pulled himself up, and he was grateful. Mama B waved a hand in Lilly's direction, her lips tightened into a small frown but her eyes conveying affection regardless.

"C'mon you, you can help me unpack downstairs," Beca gave the brunette girl a small pat on the backside, Lilly double timing it in response and rushing down the stairs lest she receive more than just a light scolding.

Offering a sheepish smile, Jacob looked up at Chloe as the red-head guided him at a slow pace towards the staircase, making sure as they proceeded that he wasn't going to pass out or try to rush himself and make his asthma flare up again.

"I'll take him to rest on the sofa until his attack passes," Chloe spoke softly to Beca, her fingers clasping around the smaller ones belonging to her son, who grasped onto them tightly as she began to assist him down the steps.

Jacob missed the way Beca's hand brushed against Chloe's hip, her hand lingering there and her eyes training on the two, watching her wife and her child with a focussed gaze. Almost like a mother hawk guarding her nest of chirping chicks and not removing her eyes from them for a moment, except in the case a threat presented itself.

They made it to the sofa without incident, and even though he was starting to feel better already, he was grateful as his two mothers double teamed together to pull his sneakers off, prop him up with several pillows and tuck him up into a child-burrito. Not that he was complaining as the pink and purple crocheted blanket was wrapped around him, in fact he was already starting to feel drowsy from all the mothering.

He closed his eyes for just a moment, feeling warm lips brush his forehead- one, two, three times- and letting the world fall away from around him. The sounds of a house coming together, feet scuffling on floorboards and voices chattering about placement of furniture. It was all calming enough that after dozing in and out of sleep, his lungs finally settled into a steady rhythm and returned to breathing as normal.

Jacob had forgotten all about the incident in the attic, about what he had seen and felt that afternoon, the endless cold enveloping his body and the whispers lapping at his ears.

He had forgotten, but it would not be long before he would be reminded.

* * *

 **AN: Apologies for the delay in getting this chapter out, have been pretty busy and distracted lately so progress was slow. Then I came down with a cold and that also put me a few days behind. Anyway, enjoy the slightly longer chapter!**

 **Special thanks to my girlfriend as always, who encourages me when I feel unmotivated. Also thanks to special friends, Jess and Chloe, for being pretty much the coolest peeps ever.**

 **Shoutout to everyone who has favourited and reviewed so far, you guys are awesome.**


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